Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Re: real estate title

You have two problems, a legal and a practical. On the legal side, the ball is probably in her court to start some sort of partition action. However, on the practical side, family disagreements are tough. You should consider meeting with a neutral person (a mediator) to work out some mutually agreeable plan to disentangle your ownership problem. And the plan should be in writing. And each of you should consult an attorney before the meeting so you know the ground rules, and have an attorney look at the agreement for holes or conflicts.

Re: real estate title

Without an agreement to the contrary, you have no legal obligation to sell the property or to purchase her interest, unless she partitions the property. This is true regardless of whether she lives in the property. To avoid partition, you may want to negotiate an agreement, e.g., you have x years to either sell or refinance, otherwise she has the power to place the home on the market. If agreed, this would be memorialized in a co-ownership agreement, along with your prior verbal agreement.